Central and Eastern Europe is one of the most important locations for global games developers and studios, and artists in the region are increasingly working for both film and games. FNE looks at how these two sectors of the entertainment industry are converging and why this trend is important for the future development of both.

FNE: When was the Romanian Game Developers Association founded and what have been your main missions and strategic projects so far?

Andreea Medvedovici Per: The Association was founded in 2014. I joined in 2016 as an executive director together with the present president of the board. Since we arrived, our main goal has been to help the community of game developers in our country reach its true potential and make Romania known as a country that produces amazing games.

We are thus trying to support the creation of original IP in Romania as much as possible and right now we are in discussions with the public authorities about a grant scheme that would enable studios to have the resources available to create original content as much as possible. We are also trying to make sure that the industry gathers more and more new talent every day, with awareness campaigns and also creating and supporting the creation of the third party educational opportunities for more qualified people to join the industry.

FNE: Which Romanian games would you single out that have had international success?

Andreea Medvedovici Per: I would say the Door Kickers franchise (three games) created by KillHouse Games, which represents the most successful original products (100% !) that came from Romania. Real time tactics games, absolutely well done, people all over the world appreciate the quality of the games developed by KillHouse and we hope to have this type of success replicated and also surpassed in the coming years by more and more studios.

There is moreover the Move or Die game created by Those Awesome Guys, a very successful party game that people have enjoyed and are still enjoying all over the world. TAG has since then moved to become a publisher and is on the lookout for good games all around the world, so it became a very international studio but it still has its roots in Romania and they make us proud.

Here, I would also mention Brawlout by Angry Mob Games, a console game that was massively popular as an indie game. The guys from Angry Mob have been working on a new undisclosed game for the past three years now and we are looking forward to seeing what is next for them.

FNE: What is the current situation in the Romanian gaming industry and what distinguishes it from the industry of other countries?

Andreea Medvedovici Per: With over 6,000 people working in the industry, the Romanian game development industry is among the top five in Europe, it is also uniquely positioned having three of the biggest international studios employing together a few thousands of people: Ubisoft, Gameloft and Electronic Arts. With over 100 independent studios in the country, the potential of original IP creation is big but is not tapped yet due to the fact that the studios are still very small and lack funding. For this reason many of these studios either work developing games for other studios in other countries and/or work on original IPs for much longer periods than they should.

FNE: Film and games converge is a hot topic now. Are there any companies in your association working across both and what are they working on?

Andreea Medvedovici Per: No, there is no convergence in our local industries.

FNE: Are there any Romanian films that are being turned into games or Romanian games that are being turned into films or TV series?

Andreea Medvedovici Per: No.

FNE: Are games going to IPO on Romanian stock market and do the companies going to IPO include a film person or film projects?

Andreea Medvedovici Per: Not yet, but there is interest in some of the Romanian game development studios and this will probably become reality in the next two-three years.

FNE: What can you tell us about the Romanian Game Development Industry Record Growth in 2021?

Andreea Medvedovici Per: The local industry is developing and in a continuing evolution, and due to this fact we have record growth each year and this is a trend that will continue to hold true in the years to come.

FNE: How do you see the development of the relationship between the film and gaming industries?

Andreea Medvedovici Per: Currently there is no relationship between the film and the gaming industry, but in the future we will seek to meet the representatives of the film industry to discuss ways in which we could cooperate.